Arsenal Vs Rennes: 5 things we learned – Second-half shocker

1. Second half calamity

The second half was a mess. From Granit Xhaka and Nacho Monreal both capitulating after brilliant first half hours to Unai Emery getting his tactics all wrong, Arsenal have dug themselves an almighty hole with their second-half display.

Their primary issue stemmed from the shape Emery chose. Presumably not wanting to sacrifice the third central midfielder, Emery decided to play without wingers and keep Henrikh Mkhitaryan at right-back. That left the Rennes wingers and full-backs with acres of space, space that they used expertly to score both of their second-half goals.

And then there was the mentality problem. The third goal, which was scored in the 88th minute, stemmed from an Arsenal throw-in about five yards from the Rennes corner flag. Nacho Monreal lost possession and Rennes countered. With a slew of players slow to recover their possession, Ismaila Sarr was left completely free at the far post to knock in the cross.

A 2-1 defeat would not have been the end of the world. Had Emery got his second-half shape correct, Arsenal could have sneaked out with a one-goal deficit and a reasonable chance to overturn it in the second leg. Instead, they now face a mountain, not a molehill.